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Yak
|Source = Franchise}}Yaks are a common background animal on Berk and seen across various Franchise media. Description Yaks (Bos grunniens) are woolly, shaggy large mammals with a pair of horns. They have cloven feet. They are in the bovine family, making them related to cattle, bison, buffalo, and others. Oddly enough, a Yak makes an appearance in the movie short, Book of Dragons, and is being shoed. In actuality, Yak are not shoed like horses and have cloven feet, not a single, hooved toe like horses. Yak are not native to Scandinavia. They live in central Asia in the Himalayas, and have been domesticated for thousands of years in this region. Behavior Yaks are quiet animals that were terribly afraid of dragons when they invaded Berk. These large mammals are often found slowly grazing grass on Berk. They do not have many talents or abilities, however, they are known to be able to run at fast speeds when escaping danger. When they fall down, they are unable to stand up again. This makes them an easy target for dragons to hunt. Function Yaks appear as a substitute for cows and bulls in the How to Train Your Dragon Franchise. These livestock are used for their milk, meat, and hides, as well as beasts of burden and pets. The meat of the Yak may technically be called "Beef", as Beef is the meat of "cattle". Cattle most often refer to (Bos taurus), but can sometimes refer to other domesticated bovine species, such as yaks. Yak and yak products are used as food and drink extensively, such as: *Yak bacon *Yak butter parfait *Yak chops with a light dusting of paprika-infused wheatgrass *Yak jerky *Yak milk *Yak noodle soup *Yak stew *Yaknog *Yak-wurst *Yak dung tea A Farm Job in School of Dragons implies that Snotlout created strawberry milk. Another Farm Job mentions Arctic Poppy, along with Dragon Nip and Yak milk combined into a stew for dragons. In the Game, How to Train a Dragon, the Night Fury's favorite food is Beef. Milk can also be used in medicine, as seen in a School of Dragons Farm Job asking for yak milk, Toothache Plant, and Arctic Poppy to treat a dragon's toothache. Another Farm job mentions Ruffnut using yak milk as a hair treatment, which is done in real-life with cow's milk. In Dragons: Rise of Berk, milk is an antidote for the venom of a Tide Glider named Grim Slipsmolder. Presumably other parts are used such as their bones and horns, as well. Their whole heads might be mounted on the wall as decoration. The Jorgensons have a pet yak named Yakkity. In actuality, in addition to the above, they are also used for riding and sport. Appearances ''Book of Dragons Yaks are seen very nominally in this movie short. One is seen being shoed by Bork the Bold, as he tried out Blacksmithing as a career. Dragons: Riders of Berk Yak are introduced in episode one, "How to Start a Dragon Academy", running away from dragons in the background. In "Animal House" there was a terrible blizzard. Yaks and other animals were returning to Berk village with the Dragon Riders, but as they could not see well, the gang got lost. Terrified of dragons, the animals ran away. Hiccup and the gang then captured them all and the yaks overcame their fear. In "How to Pick Your Dragon", Ruffnut Thorston and Tuffnut Thorston overturned yaks for fun. The animals were unable to return to their feet. In "Heather Report, Part 1", Hiccup offered Heather some fresh yak milk. This shows that yak milk is used. In "What Flies Beneath", Toothless' Rival, a Whispering Death devoured a yak along with several Sheep. Dragons: Race to the Edge Season 1 While attempting to figure out what substance was causing Fishlegs' allergies in "Big Man on Berk", Ruffnut and Tuffnut placed itchy yak fur on his face. However, Fishlegs only claimed that the feeling of the fur reminded him of his aunt Gerta. Later on in the same episode, Thor Bonecrusher saved a yak calf from falling off a cliff by jumping in front of it, pinching it and causing it to sleep. Season 2 A stuffed yak is one of the many things seen in Snotlout and Tuffnut’s clubhouse cave in “Maces and Talons, Part 2”. Season 3 In the episode "Turn and Burn", the Jorgensons bring a yak with them to Storehouse Island. He is named Yakkity. Yak chops appear in "To Heather or Not to Heather" - a dish that Heather prepares for herself and the Dragon Riders. Ruffnut's and Tuffnut's stuffed yak appears briefly in the episode "Follow the Leader", when the twins use it as target practice with the Monstrous Nightmare gel reserves. Season 4 In "Not Lout", Snotlout attempts to demonstrate leadership qualities by returning items he had to the Twins. One item was "Fluffers", a stuffed toy yak of Ruffnut's. Season 5 In the episode, "A Matter of Perspective", Tuffnut tried to read Hiccup's mind and spouts of various things such as "Yak Lice". Hiccup is not amused. The Twins' stuffed Yak appears in the episode "Snuffnut". Tuffnut uses it as a hiding place to eavesdrop on his sister's conversation with Throk. Season 6 In the episode, "In Plain Sight" Dagur asks what kind of bait attracts the Thunderfish. Rambling on about a few items, Dagur mentions Yak Hoof as bait. In the episode, "A Gruff Separation", the Twins compete against each other for the Thorston Induction Trials. Each is doing it for the benefit of the other, but unbeknownst to them. Tuffnut does not want Ruffnut to become ''"some middle-aged cow", devoid of family connection. "Cow" usually refers to cattle (Bos Taurus), but is also a term for any female Bovine. ''Dawn of the Dragon Racers A baby yak charged at Ruffnut and Tuffnut when they thought that it was the black sheep. There was also a scene in which a Yak head is seen displayed on the wall of a Viking home. Dragons: Rescue Riders Though yaks do not physically appear thus far in this spin-off series, they are mentioned in a lullaby that Cutter sings to baby Silver-tailed Ironclaws in the episode, "Bad Egg". Games Dragons: Rise of Berk In the Journey activity for Fishlegs and Meatlug to Forest Island, Fishlegs carries along dried Yak meat to entice the wary Firescrapes with. There is also the building "Yak Farm" a player places on Berk to increase their Viking population and advance in the Game. Yak milk is mentioned as a cure for Slipsmolder's poison. There is also a Snafflefang named Yakstacker who enjoys herding livestock. School of Dragons In the games, ''School of Dragons, the player has a farm with various crops and livestock to raise and harvest. Yak are one of the animals a player can purchase and harvest milk from. There are various Farm Jobs which require Yak milk for completion. There are also other Quests relating to Yaks - for example, the quest "Scrubbed Clean: Part 1" requires the player to obtain Yak tallow (rendered fat) for soap-making. Yak Noodle Soup is mentioned in the Quest "What a Mess!". Astrid asks the player to help make Yaknog in the Quest "Time for Togetherness". Two yaks pulling a cart of supplies appear in "The Simplest of Machines". In 2018, School of Dragons released three painted Yak variations for Dreadfall. Each had a skeletal motif on their bodies in either orange, blue, or green. In the "Hidden World" Expansion, Gobber uses a sayings involving yaks: ''Dragons: Titan Uprising Yak is mentioned in this game in the Stocky Snafflefangs' description. Yak is also mentioned in the Tricky Timberjacks' description. Mountain Nightmares living in the Frozen Tundra hunt the wild yak that live in the mountains as a large part of their diet. Trivia *There is a breed of cattle called the "Scottish Highland" that roughly resembles the yaks in the franchise. They are dual-purpose cattle with wide horns and long shaggy coats. *The word yak is used in some common phrases such as when Fishlegs says "...let's not start slapping our yaks quite yet.." in Dragons: Race to the Edge. References * * * *Encyclopedia Brittanica - Cattle Site Navigation Category:Dragon Food Category:Animals Category:Livestock Category:Medicine Category:Dragons: Rise of Berk Category:School of Dragons Category:Dragons: Riders of Berk Category:Dragons: Race to the Edge Category:Dragons: Titan Uprising Category:Human Food Category:Dragons: Rescue Riders